The Strictly Low Histamine Diet

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Stress and Histamine Part 6: Sleep

Good sleep is essential for stress relief

Getting a good night’s sleep is an essential factor in stress relief. It’s especially beneficial for people who suffer from histamine intolerance.

Cortisol is the “stress hormone”. When we are sleep-deprived our cortisol levels rise. [Leproult et al]

Nutritional biochemist Shawn Talbott, author of “The Cortisol Connection”, says that when we sleep for only six hours per night instead of the recommended eight, our cortisol levels rise by a whopping fifty percent!

While we sleep, our bodies cease producing cortisol, because sleep is meant for healing and regenerating. [Weitzman et al]

Stress can cause poor sleep, and poor sleep can cause stress.

If you’re sleep deprived, due to stress or some other cause, your mind does not function as well as it should. It’s harder to concentrate and to think rationally. This, in turn, can exacerbate stress.

Stress and anxiety can contribute to insomnia and restless sleep. Even when we are asleep, anxiety can permeate our dreams and disrupt our quality of slumber. It’s important to curb anxiety before you lie down to sleep at night.

Some Tips for Good Sleep

Sleep on your side

An Australian survey found that people who slept on their side reported better sleep and fewer aches and pains. Lying on your stomach gives you the worst sleep. [Gordon SJ. et al]

Don’t hit the snooze button in the morning.

Robert S. Rosenberg, the medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Prescott Valley and Flagstaff, Arizona says that after you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock, your sleep will be of poor quality. You’d be better off simply continuing to sleep for that extra 10 minutes. To make matters worse, by waking up enough to hit the button then falling back asleep for a very short time, you’re interfering with your body’s natural sleep patterns.

Do not use the bedroom for work

We subconsciously associate places with activities. For example if we use our bedroom as a study or office, the brain will associate that space with working, thinking, being alert, and solving problems. Whereas your place of repose should be associated with relaxing and unwinding.
Set aside a dedicated space for work and a dedicated space for sleep.

Teenagers should be allowed to sleep in when practicable!

Teenagers need 9 – 10 hours of sleep every night, yet most adolescents only average about seven or eight hours. Some sleep even less. The hormones swirling throughout the body during puberty shift teenagers’ body clocks forward by one or two hours. This means they are naturally inclined to stay up late at nights, and then sleep in when morning arrives. (Sound familiar to you?)
Early school starts prevent teenagers from sleeping in. Over time, they build up a ‘sleep debt’ of chronic sleep deprivation, which can adversely affect their health and studies.

Other strategies

Meditation, a warm bath, soothing music – these are some other useful tools for pre-sleep relaxation.

Please note!

The team behind “Is Food Making You Sick? The Strictly Low-histamine Diet” is always updating the book to reflect the latest scientific research. Look for the 2017 edition. The date is printed on the front cover and on the title page.

Flaxseeds (the 2014 and 2015 editions) are no longer listed as suitable for people with histamine intolerance.

Despite still being listed as “well-tolerated” by the Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) and other reputable sources, coconut is no longer recommended for HIT sufferers. It has been added to the “foods to avoid” list in the book. Recipes in the 2017 edition have been revised accordingly.

The Strictly Low Histamine Diet is just that – strict. Our aim is to exclude any foods that possess even a minimal chance of aggravating the condition.